Pete

We have a licorice verbena plant in our garden that is growing like mad and would love some ideas of how to best use it. Google has been of little help.

Paula and I had a wonderful meal in the back room last week to celebrate her birthday. Peas and mushrooms play heavily on the menu at Palena these days. While everything was delicious, the following dishes should not be missed. Spring Pea and Pistachio Gazpacho - wonderful. Olive oil brought out all of the flavors of the peas and the pistachios. Mushroom soup Potato and Nettle Gnocchi Pici - fat spaghetti with duck confit. A tad too much salt, but otherwise, a wonderful dish.

I can't vouch for quality (never been there) but I think Shula's Steakhouse in Tysons is open for lunch on Saturday's.

That was my first thought. Unfortunately, I don't think we are going to be able to make it.

To MJ and Ken. Your friendliness, hospitality, and wonderful sushi will be missed.

I used a day off of work on Wednesday to make an attempt at making Pulled Pork using my Weber Performer grill. Overall, I think it was a fairly successful first attempt. I followed the recipe from Steve Raichlen's The Barbecue Bible (which is a fantastic book). I purchased a 7.5 lb Boston Butt from Macgruders, covered it with the dry rub, and let it rest in the fridge for 2 hours (the recipe has you rest it for 3-8 hours, but I didn't have time). I put the pork on the grill at 11:30AM and fed the grill more charcoal and wood chunks hourly. At 5pm the pork was at 190 degrees so I removed it from the grill, let it rest 15 minutes, and shredded the meat by hand (will invest in heavy duty rubber gloves for this part next time). The shredded pork got a moderate dose of vinegar sauce (recipe from the book) and I put it back on the grill to keep warm until serving. Next time I try this I will let the dry rub sit for longer. The 2 hours was probably not enough time. I will probably try a different sauce, as the vinegar sauce needed a little more sweetness....perhaps a Memphis meets Carolina sauce (BBQ purists reading this right now are probably throwing things at the computer screen). Here's my (good) dilemma. I have lots of leftover pulled pork. More than 2 1/2 people can eat in a reasonable amount of time. Does cooked pulled pork freeze well?

Interesting about the Vienna location. Their website says that it is going to be at 431 W. Maple Avenue. It appears to have nearby competition, as I saw a sign for "Molly's Yogurt", which is going in at 521 W. Maple Ave.

WHAT???? NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is incredibly sad news. MJ & Ken were the best. We go (used to go?) here at least twice a month. My daughter (2 1/2) always asks "let's go see MJ and Ken". They knew to add EXTRA tofu to my daughter's miso soup, and, without fail, would surprise us with something special from the chef. Please let us know if you find out where they wind up. They will certainly be missed.

We made these Cider-Glazed Sweet Potatoes to go along with our Easter/Passover(!) ham this year and they were excellent. I bet you could roast them if you don't have access to a grill.

Thanks for the recommendation. I found them this weekend at Home Depot and bought a box. Can't wait to try them out. The tiles are about 1/2 inch thick. When you say you can create layers, do you mean that you stack the tiles on top of each other? If so, would there be any need to do more than 2 layers (i.e. 1 inch thick)?

Bump. I obliterated my cheap (Bed, Bath, & Beyond) pizza stone several months ago (stupid me cranked the grill up too high and had the stone too close to the coals). Trying to decide whether to go the cheap route with unglazed, quarry tiles or buy a pizza stone for use in our home oven. Does anybody have any recommendations? I went to Home Depot and asked about unglazed, quarry tiles, but the person working there looked at me like I was from another planet. (BTW: Thank you to Leleboo for putting together the Shopping & Cooking Forum Index. It made finding this thread easy!)

This blog is terrific. Thanks a ton for giving us a unique look into vineyard life.

I just finished the 2nd rise of my Almost No-Knead bread from Cooks Illustrated and realized that I used the wrong kind of yeast. The recipe calls for instant yeast, and I used active-dry yeast, but did not proof it. As a result, the bread did not double in size. Should I proof some active-dry yeast and mix it into the dough now or just go ahead and bake it as is?

To keep the discussion of Proof and birthdays going, I guess I should post about my birthday dinner last week. Paula and I celebrated my birthday last Wednesday with a very nice dinner at Proof. I am fairly certain that she noted my birthday on the OpenTable reservation. As such, I was greeted with a "happy birthday" by the hostess. We created our own tasting menu by sharing a few appetizers to start, which the waiter brought out one at a time (per his suggestion, which was nice). We shared the grilled eggplant salad with chickpeas was a nice way to start, and was dressed lightly in a vinaigrette dressing. The Ahi Tuna Tartare was described perfectly by leleboo above. The Spicy Little Meatballs, on their own, were a little bland. However, the goat cheese agnolotti were phenomenal. I could definitely eat an entire bowl of them. I had been eyeing the Miso Glazed Sablefish on the online menu and it did not disappoint. Perfectly-cooked fish is often hard to come by, but this one was perfect. The soba noodles, baby bok choi, and the zucchini complemented the sablefish extremely well and was perfectly paired with a lovely Pinot d'Alsace. Paula had the Pan Seared Day Boat Scallops, which were terrific as well. They had a beautiful sear to them but were still tender on the inside. For dessert, I had the sticky toffee pudding (with birthday candle), and Paula had the honeyed goats cheesecake, both of which were terrific ways to end the meal. Life has been a bit of a clusterf*&@ lately, so I was looking forward to having a nice, leisurely meal with good food and good wine, and Proof did not disappoint.

Not a lot of dining out done in 2009, but here are the items that stand out. Fish tacos from Bad Bean Taqueria in Corolla, NC Crab Cakes from North Banks Restaurant & Raw Bar in Corolla, NC Meatball parm hero from Roman Inn in Englewood, NJ Celery Sorbet palate cleanser from Restaurant Eve "Broth with pesto and ham" amuse from Restaurant Eve Goat cheese agnolotti from Proof Oxtail Tots from PS7 Many burgers from Ray’s Hell Burger Everything from Artisan Confections My wife’s black & white cookies My wife's matzah ball soup

I will be making many trips up to St. Vincent's Hospital (170 W 12th St) over the next few months to visit a family member. I am looking for good lunch places for a solo within walking distance of the hospital. Most lunches will be quick, but I also welcome recommendations for more leisurely lunches. I have already done Gray's Papaya and Famous Ray's.

We were in Corolla, NC 2 weeks ago and managed to eat fairly well. Many of our meals were carryout, which I have noted. Bad Bean Taqueria – Located in the Timbuck II shopping center. This place is awesome, so we ate here twice. The fish tacos (with Mahi-Mahi) were incredible, and the jicama slaw that it was served with put it over-the-top. Even their basic beef taco was terrific, as they use a brisket cut, which had a terrific slow-cooked flavor. Their margaritas are terrific as well. Sooey’s BBQ – A carry-out meal. Decent fried chicken provided by a staff of a-holes. The ribs that I got were terrible! They tasted as if they were boiled to death, thrown on the grill for 30 seconds, slathered with sauce, and had a strange smell. My wife’s ribs were better, for some reason. North Banks Restaurant & Raw Bar – Located in the Timbuck II shopping center. Another carry-out meal. Their broiled crabcakes were possibly the best crabcakes that I have ever had. The crab had a wonderful fresh, sweet flavor with a minimal binder. They offer fried crabcakes as well, but I see no reason to order anything other than the broiled. The crabcakes came with zucchini and mashed potatoes, both of which were really good. Boiled peel-and-eat shrimp were fairly good, while the “Oysters Vince” (Freshly Shucked Oysters, topped with Applewood Smoked Bacon, Chopped Pistachios and a Champagne Beurre Blanc) were tasty, but were more of a showcase for the bacon and pistachios than the oysters. Metropolis – A martini and tapas restaurant located in Corolla close to the Duck border. This was our only “grown-up” dinner, and we had a very nice time. None of the tapas stood out as “terrific”, but none was bad, and I would definitely return here. The items we enjoyed most were probably the salmon tartar (a special), the duck salami that was part of the cheese plate with charcuterie, and the truffled housemade "tater tots" that came with the beef tenderloin. Pine Island Diner – we had a very nice breakfast here one morning. Pancakes, waffles, and omelets were all thoroughly enjoyed. They claim to use “Organic And All Natural Products When Possible” and their slightly higher prices than a standard diner does reflect that. Flying Dutchman – Located in the same shopping center as Metropolis, this was another carryout meal. We ordered WAY too much food here. We enjoyed the Corn Fritters, which were served a with roasted red pepper remoulade. For my entrée, I ordered the Cracklin Pork Shank, which was crispy on the outside and fork-tender on the inside. This thing was Flintsonian big and would have fed a small army on its own. My wife had the Seafood Boil (Shrimp, clams, blue crab, andouille sausage, red potatoes and corn on the cob with drawn butter and the pot jus) which was really good, but required more “work” than we wanted since we were exhausted. They also have some really good salads.

Any other recent updates from OBX? We'll be staying in Corolla next week.

Les Paul.

This may have been posted previously, but if I hit the "Insert link" button, the box to insert the link moves halfway off the screen to the left. I am using IE 6.0 as my browser (Yes, it is an old version of IE. No, I don't have a choice about it).

Rose Kabob is a great choice. Next door is Sakana Sushi, which is open for lunch on Saturday's as well. It is a small restaurant, so definitely call to make a reservation.

Psst. Order any dish on the menu with tomatoes. Trust me. You will be very happy.

I was planning on using Sur La Table but figured I would check to see if there were additional options.

Does anybody have any recommendations for kife sharpening (besides Sur La Table) in the Tysons Corner area? Like others, I am lazy and don't want to go too far.

Too late for Father's Day, but Legal Seafoods in Tyson's had a soft shell crab sandwich special on Friday at lunchtime. Honestly, it wasn't very good (they claimed it was pan-fried, but it looked deep-fried to me and tasted way overcooked).